Coalition partners PPP, PML-N spar after first phase of AJK elections as political temperatures rise

The PPP and the PML-N, coalition partners in the Centre, traded barbs on Tuesday after the conclusion of the first phase of elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s party alleging rigging in the polls and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz urging it to accept defeat. The PML-N grabbed nine out of the 13 constituencies of AJK’s Mirpur division in yesterday’s elections, preliminary results issued by the Election Commission showed. Polls in AJK are being held in thre...